[Fic] Reminiscing
Title: Reminiscing
Author: bunny_d_kate
Fandom: Arashi
Pairing: Sakumoto, Sakuraiba
Summary: Even MatsuJun needs a hug sometimes.
Sho had been going over his speech all evening but the foreign words just wouldn’t stick in his head. Why did they choose him to do their opening speech tomorrow? Okay, Nino and Ohno weren’t off any better and he already felt a little sorry for their leader who really seemed to be struggling with his lines a lot. He put down the note with a sigh and rubbed his tired eyes. Of course it was beyond awesome that they were finally able to tour around Asia like this but it also meant a huge amount of extra work. He was already drifting off into a light slumber when a sudden knock on the door jerked him awake again.
“Yes?”
The door was opened and Jun poked his head into the room with an awkward smile.
“Yo…”
Sho blinked at him in mild surprise.
“Matsujun? What’s up?”
Jun just gave a small shrug.
“Can I come in?”
“Sure you can.”
Jun strolled through the room finally slumping down on the comfy white armchair in the corner that was facing the bed. Sho looked at him for a moment waiting for any further reaction but Jun just sighed and stared down at his feet.
“You alright?”
Again he didn’t get anything more than a nod in return so he picked up the piece of paper in his lap again and turned back to his text. Of course he could tell that something wasn’t quite right but he also knew that forcing an answer out of Jun would only result in him getting annoyed and that wouldn’t help anyone. So they sat in silence for a while as Sho kept mumbling under his breath trying to remember his lines.
“Hey?”
When Sho looked up again Jun was looking outside the window into the dark night sky.
“Hm?”
“Do I look kinda... drained?”
“Why are you asking? Did Nino make fun of you again?”
A grim smile flashed over Jun’s lips and it was obvious that he wasn’t in the mood for jokes right now.
“No. But I was just looking at myself in the mirror and…”
Sho had to bite down on his lower lip to keep himself from blurting out a snide comment about Jun’s usual narcissism. Now really wasn’t the right time for this.
“…I look like a ghost or something. Or more like a zombie with those bags under my eyes.”
“Well, that’s normal, isn’t it? You’re stressed.”
“We’re all stressed but why am I the only one who looks like shit? Even my hair is all messed up.”
As if to underline his statement Jun ruffled through his dark curls with a disgusted look on his face.
“Of course we are but during tours it’s you who’s working the most, right? Checking the stage settings, working with the lighting people, fixing all the schedules. You do everything. You know you could ask for help anytime but you don’t, do you? Because it drives you crazy if things aren’t going exactly the way you want them to. It’s always been like that and I don’t think it’s gonna change anytime soon. You’re just too much of a perfectionist to let things go at their own pace.”
Slumped down into the big chair like that Jun looked nothing like his usual Domyoji-self but rather like a soaked puppy. His voice was small when he spoke up again.
“Can I…”
Sho had to perk up his ears to catch his mumbling and he still wasn’t too sure if he had heard correctly.
“What was that again?”
The expression on Jun’s face looked as pained as if the words coming out of his mouth were biting into his tongue.
“Can I have a hug?”
Sho’s eyes widened as he stared at Jun like he was some kind of exotic animal. Being a member of Arashi you had to be prepared for all kinds of surprises at any time but this turn of events left him a little baffled to say the least.
“A-?”
“Don’t make me say it again!”
They weren’t sitting close enough to see it clearly but was that a blush creeping up on Jun’s cheeks? Sometimes the cuteness still managed to shine through all the serious exterior that made up the cool Matsumoto image.
Sho’s lips curled into a bright grin as he patted the empty space next to him on the bed.
“Come here. Snuggle up.”
Jun walked over to him and tentatively sat down on the edge of the mattress.
“I thought you wanted a hug. You might have to come a little closer for that. I’m not a monkey, you know.”
When Jun lay down next to him Sho uncerimoniously slid an arm under his head and pulled him into a tight hug. Jun’s body went stiff for a moment but after the first shock had subsided he gradually started to relax and rested his head on Sho’s chest.
“Now that’s better.”
He could feel Jun’s warm breath trickle through the fabric of his shirt and the faint smell of his probably very expensive shampoo tickled his nose.
“It’s been a while, hm? I thought you didn’t do this anymore.”
Jun tried to raise his head to look at him but Sho’s arms held him in position. Apparently he didn’t mind too much and just stayed that way.
“Do what?”
“Come over to me like that. You used to do that all the time when we started off. You kept asking me all kinds of questions. It almost felt weird when you didn’t show up at my door. It was like I had a puppy or something.”
Sho let out an amused chuckle when Jun tried to punch him in the ribs.
“Shut up!”
“No, but it was cute. You were cute. And I felt kinda special because you looked up to me like that. I miss that a little. You’ve grown up so much. More than me probably...”
“That’s embarrassing, Sho.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to get that nostalgic. And your hair really is a mess.”
Sho ran his fingers through Jun’s dark hair that still felt pretty silky even though it didn’t look like it right now. Jun grumbled but didn’t stop him either.
“I did grow up, didn’t I? But wouldn’t it be strange if I didn’t?”
“Worked with Aiba-chan.”
He could feel Jun’s chuckle vibrate on his chest which indicated that he was truely relaxing now.
“Yes, but he’s a special case. I wanted to grow up. I couldn’t stay the dorky kid forever. But it’s true. I used to ask you for advice all the time. I always thought I must have annoyed the hell out of you. But you never showed that to me. You were always so patient and kind and... man, I really did look up to you. If it hadn’t been for you I probably wouldn’t even have finished school.”
“Now I’m embarrassed.”
It still felt good though. And it was good that Jun wasn’t able to see the blissful smile on his face. He sure was glad Nino wasn’t here right now.
“You were like the older brother I never had. Though I found out later that you weren’t actually “Mr. Perfect” but someone who sucks both at cooking as well as at sports and is a bit of an idiot sometimes. Or... most of the time.”
“Hey! You’re ruining the mood. I almost started crying now.”
“I didn’t want it to get too gay.”
“This is still Arashi...”
“True. Anyway... When we started with the band I was still a child. I was always in your shadow. I didn’t mind though. It made me feel safe. But at some point I kinda grew out of it. I wanted to stand on my own. That doesn’t mean I don’t look up to you anymore. It’s just... different now.”
Sho had absentmindedly been drawing little circles on his back with his fingers as Jun kept talking and a warm feeling was pleasantly tingling inside his stomach. They surely hadn’t had a talk like that for ages. If they ever had at all. Maybe it would never happen again. Either way, he wanted to cherish the moment as long as he could.
“You know you can come to me anytime. If it’s for advice or a hug or whatever.”
“I know.”
“That’s good.”
***
Jun had fallen asleep after a while and Sho was also pretty close to dozing off again when Aiba entered the room emitting his usual wave of pure energy.
“HA-“
Sho tried to wave as frantically as he could in his current position to shut Aiba up without waking up Jun.
“Shush!”
Aiba blinked in surprise as he notice the other man sleeping peacefully in Sho’s arms but his look changed to worried right away.
“Did something happen?”
Sho gave a little smile and shook his head.
“No, he’s fine. We just talked a little.”
“Hmm~?”
Aiba’s face was like a rollercoaster of expressions. Now it changed to look rather sceptical.
“You usually don’t hug like that while talking...”
“Yeah I was surprised myself. But he needed it apparently.”
A mischievous grin spread across Sho’s face as he looked up at his friend who was standing right next to the bed now.
“Jealous?”
“Should I be?”
Sho’s smile softened.
“No.”
Aiba’s usual happy go lucky expression was back immediately as he crawled onto the bed and snuggled up behind Sho resting his arm on his hip.
“Jun-chan looks so cute when he’s asleep. I wanna pinch his cheek.”
“If you do I’ll assure you he won’t look that cute anymore. Rather....”
“Scary?”
“Pretty much.”
“Then I’ll pinch yours.”
“Ouch”
“And I’ll do this...”
Sho felt Aiba’s warm breath tickle his ear before he softly started nibbling his earlobe. His husky voice was even more irresistible when it was this close to his ear and nothing more than a whisper.
“I bet Jun-chan doesn’t do that to you.”
Despite the very stimulating atmosphere Sho had to suppress a laugh.
“That would be so wrong in so many ways.”
“I bet he’s good at it though.”
“Probably. But I don’t want anyone to nibble my ear but you, Masaki-baby.”
A few strands of hair were brushed into his face as Aiba started laughing as quietly as he could manage.
“You haven’t called me that in a while.”
“Did you miss it?”
“Not really. It sounds kinda stupid, don’t you think?”
“Yes, but it’s filled with love."
“Awww~. I’m filled with love, too.”
“For me?”
“Yes, silly.”
“Just checking.”
“Do you think Jun-chan would mind if I stay here tonight?”
“Don’t think so. And this is still my room. I would mind if you didn’t.”
“And I know you don’t mind being in the middle of the sandwich.”
“Good night, Aiba-chan.”
“Good night, Sho-chan. And Jun-chan, too.”
Author: bunny_d_kate
Fandom: Arashi
Pairing: Sakumoto, Sakuraiba
Summary: Even MatsuJun needs a hug sometimes.
Sho had been going over his speech all evening but the foreign words just wouldn’t stick in his head. Why did they choose him to do their opening speech tomorrow? Okay, Nino and Ohno weren’t off any better and he already felt a little sorry for their leader who really seemed to be struggling with his lines a lot. He put down the note with a sigh and rubbed his tired eyes. Of course it was beyond awesome that they were finally able to tour around Asia like this but it also meant a huge amount of extra work. He was already drifting off into a light slumber when a sudden knock on the door jerked him awake again.
“Yes?”
The door was opened and Jun poked his head into the room with an awkward smile.
“Yo…”
Sho blinked at him in mild surprise.
“Matsujun? What’s up?”
Jun just gave a small shrug.
“Can I come in?”
“Sure you can.”
Jun strolled through the room finally slumping down on the comfy white armchair in the corner that was facing the bed. Sho looked at him for a moment waiting for any further reaction but Jun just sighed and stared down at his feet.
“You alright?”
Again he didn’t get anything more than a nod in return so he picked up the piece of paper in his lap again and turned back to his text. Of course he could tell that something wasn’t quite right but he also knew that forcing an answer out of Jun would only result in him getting annoyed and that wouldn’t help anyone. So they sat in silence for a while as Sho kept mumbling under his breath trying to remember his lines.
“Hey?”
When Sho looked up again Jun was looking outside the window into the dark night sky.
“Hm?”
“Do I look kinda... drained?”
“Why are you asking? Did Nino make fun of you again?”
A grim smile flashed over Jun’s lips and it was obvious that he wasn’t in the mood for jokes right now.
“No. But I was just looking at myself in the mirror and…”
Sho had to bite down on his lower lip to keep himself from blurting out a snide comment about Jun’s usual narcissism. Now really wasn’t the right time for this.
“…I look like a ghost or something. Or more like a zombie with those bags under my eyes.”
“Well, that’s normal, isn’t it? You’re stressed.”
“We’re all stressed but why am I the only one who looks like shit? Even my hair is all messed up.”
As if to underline his statement Jun ruffled through his dark curls with a disgusted look on his face.
“Of course we are but during tours it’s you who’s working the most, right? Checking the stage settings, working with the lighting people, fixing all the schedules. You do everything. You know you could ask for help anytime but you don’t, do you? Because it drives you crazy if things aren’t going exactly the way you want them to. It’s always been like that and I don’t think it’s gonna change anytime soon. You’re just too much of a perfectionist to let things go at their own pace.”
Slumped down into the big chair like that Jun looked nothing like his usual Domyoji-self but rather like a soaked puppy. His voice was small when he spoke up again.
“Can I…”
Sho had to perk up his ears to catch his mumbling and he still wasn’t too sure if he had heard correctly.
“What was that again?”
The expression on Jun’s face looked as pained as if the words coming out of his mouth were biting into his tongue.
“Can I have a hug?”
Sho’s eyes widened as he stared at Jun like he was some kind of exotic animal. Being a member of Arashi you had to be prepared for all kinds of surprises at any time but this turn of events left him a little baffled to say the least.
“A-?”
“Don’t make me say it again!”
They weren’t sitting close enough to see it clearly but was that a blush creeping up on Jun’s cheeks? Sometimes the cuteness still managed to shine through all the serious exterior that made up the cool Matsumoto image.
Sho’s lips curled into a bright grin as he patted the empty space next to him on the bed.
“Come here. Snuggle up.”
Jun walked over to him and tentatively sat down on the edge of the mattress.
“I thought you wanted a hug. You might have to come a little closer for that. I’m not a monkey, you know.”
When Jun lay down next to him Sho uncerimoniously slid an arm under his head and pulled him into a tight hug. Jun’s body went stiff for a moment but after the first shock had subsided he gradually started to relax and rested his head on Sho’s chest.
“Now that’s better.”
He could feel Jun’s warm breath trickle through the fabric of his shirt and the faint smell of his probably very expensive shampoo tickled his nose.
“It’s been a while, hm? I thought you didn’t do this anymore.”
Jun tried to raise his head to look at him but Sho’s arms held him in position. Apparently he didn’t mind too much and just stayed that way.
“Do what?”
“Come over to me like that. You used to do that all the time when we started off. You kept asking me all kinds of questions. It almost felt weird when you didn’t show up at my door. It was like I had a puppy or something.”
Sho let out an amused chuckle when Jun tried to punch him in the ribs.
“Shut up!”
“No, but it was cute. You were cute. And I felt kinda special because you looked up to me like that. I miss that a little. You’ve grown up so much. More than me probably...”
“That’s embarrassing, Sho.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to get that nostalgic. And your hair really is a mess.”
Sho ran his fingers through Jun’s dark hair that still felt pretty silky even though it didn’t look like it right now. Jun grumbled but didn’t stop him either.
“I did grow up, didn’t I? But wouldn’t it be strange if I didn’t?”
“Worked with Aiba-chan.”
He could feel Jun’s chuckle vibrate on his chest which indicated that he was truely relaxing now.
“Yes, but he’s a special case. I wanted to grow up. I couldn’t stay the dorky kid forever. But it’s true. I used to ask you for advice all the time. I always thought I must have annoyed the hell out of you. But you never showed that to me. You were always so patient and kind and... man, I really did look up to you. If it hadn’t been for you I probably wouldn’t even have finished school.”
“Now I’m embarrassed.”
It still felt good though. And it was good that Jun wasn’t able to see the blissful smile on his face. He sure was glad Nino wasn’t here right now.
“You were like the older brother I never had. Though I found out later that you weren’t actually “Mr. Perfect” but someone who sucks both at cooking as well as at sports and is a bit of an idiot sometimes. Or... most of the time.”
“Hey! You’re ruining the mood. I almost started crying now.”
“I didn’t want it to get too gay.”
“This is still Arashi...”
“True. Anyway... When we started with the band I was still a child. I was always in your shadow. I didn’t mind though. It made me feel safe. But at some point I kinda grew out of it. I wanted to stand on my own. That doesn’t mean I don’t look up to you anymore. It’s just... different now.”
Sho had absentmindedly been drawing little circles on his back with his fingers as Jun kept talking and a warm feeling was pleasantly tingling inside his stomach. They surely hadn’t had a talk like that for ages. If they ever had at all. Maybe it would never happen again. Either way, he wanted to cherish the moment as long as he could.
“You know you can come to me anytime. If it’s for advice or a hug or whatever.”
“I know.”
“That’s good.”
***
Jun had fallen asleep after a while and Sho was also pretty close to dozing off again when Aiba entered the room emitting his usual wave of pure energy.
“HA-“
Sho tried to wave as frantically as he could in his current position to shut Aiba up without waking up Jun.
“Shush!”
Aiba blinked in surprise as he notice the other man sleeping peacefully in Sho’s arms but his look changed to worried right away.
“Did something happen?”
Sho gave a little smile and shook his head.
“No, he’s fine. We just talked a little.”
“Hmm~?”
Aiba’s face was like a rollercoaster of expressions. Now it changed to look rather sceptical.
“You usually don’t hug like that while talking...”
“Yeah I was surprised myself. But he needed it apparently.”
A mischievous grin spread across Sho’s face as he looked up at his friend who was standing right next to the bed now.
“Jealous?”
“Should I be?”
Sho’s smile softened.
“No.”
Aiba’s usual happy go lucky expression was back immediately as he crawled onto the bed and snuggled up behind Sho resting his arm on his hip.
“Jun-chan looks so cute when he’s asleep. I wanna pinch his cheek.”
“If you do I’ll assure you he won’t look that cute anymore. Rather....”
“Scary?”
“Pretty much.”
“Then I’ll pinch yours.”
“Ouch”
“And I’ll do this...”
Sho felt Aiba’s warm breath tickle his ear before he softly started nibbling his earlobe. His husky voice was even more irresistible when it was this close to his ear and nothing more than a whisper.
“I bet Jun-chan doesn’t do that to you.”
Despite the very stimulating atmosphere Sho had to suppress a laugh.
“That would be so wrong in so many ways.”
“I bet he’s good at it though.”
“Probably. But I don’t want anyone to nibble my ear but you, Masaki-baby.”
A few strands of hair were brushed into his face as Aiba started laughing as quietly as he could manage.
“You haven’t called me that in a while.”
“Did you miss it?”
“Not really. It sounds kinda stupid, don’t you think?”
“Yes, but it’s filled with love."
“Awww~. I’m filled with love, too.”
“For me?”
“Yes, silly.”
“Just checking.”
“Do you think Jun-chan would mind if I stay here tonight?”
“Don’t think so. And this is still my room. I would mind if you didn’t.”
“And I know you don’t mind being in the middle of the sandwich.”
“Good night, Aiba-chan.”
“Good night, Sho-chan. And Jun-chan, too.”